Calories are the crucial factor in weight management. While the body is always burning calories, even when it's at rest, eating too many calories will lead to weight gain. Burning more calories than you consume results in weight loss. It takes a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose 1 pound of weight. By burning an additional 600 calories a day, you can expect to lose 1 pound every five to six days, as long as your calorie consumption doesn't increase.

Step 1

Do 60 minutes of rigorous exercise daily. One hour of running at 6 mph, bicycling 14 to 15.9 mph, swimming the breaststroke and high-impact step aerobics burn 600 calories, according to Harvard Health Publications. Consider dividing your exercise into two or three separate workouts to burn more. A study published in "Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging" in 2011 reported greater fat oxidation in three 10-minute workouts than in one 30-minute workout.

Step 2

Replace two 60-minute workouts a week with interval training, which burns more fat in less time, according to a study published in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" in 2007. Instead of long sustained aerobic exercise, interval exercise involves alternating between moderate and high levels of exertion, with 30 seconds to two minutes for each interval. You can adjust exertion through speed and incline or tension or both. For example, you can ride a stationary bike using low speed and tension during the moderate phase and increasing your speed or tension during the high phase.

Step 3

Increase your activity throughout the day. Stand instead of sit. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

Step 4

Play. Going outside to play tag with the kids or joining a recreational sports program is a fun way to burn calories.

Tip

Add a healthy diet to your calorie-burning efforts. Burning an additional 600 calories a day requires fueling the body with lean protein, whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.

About the Author

Leslie Truex has been telecommuting and freelancing since 1994. She wrote the "The Work-At-Home Success Bible" and is a career/business and writing instructor at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Truex has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Willamette University and a Master of Social Work from California State University-Sacramento. She has been an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America certified fitness instructor since 2001.